Mr. WHITE. There being no further business, the subcommittee is adjourned. [Whereupon, at 11:28 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 75-178 O- 81 - 26 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES, MILITARY PERSONNEL SUBCOMMITTEE, Washington, D.C., Wednesday, June 29, 1977. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:16 a.m., in room 2218, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Richard C. White (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Mr. WHITE. Good morning. Today we meet to consider several bills which have been referred to the subcommittee and which bear on health care delivery. Those bills include several measures for which we have not received comments from the department concerned, but nonetheless, we should review them prior to making legislative recommendations. Before each member is a composite description of all the bills which has been prepared for your review. You will note that those measures include proposals to reduce the CHAMPUS cost-sharing formula, a bill to provide a dental program under CHAMPUS, one that would not require transfer to medicare when eligible, another to remove the 40mile restriction on the use of CHAMPUS, a bill to allow retirees with service-connected disabilities to receive treatment for such disabilities under CHAMPUS and several others. When we get more members here, I am going to ask Mr. Hogan to review some of these bills. One of the bills was addressed earlier by the Army Chief of Dentistry which would revamp the Dental Corps in the Army and provide a similar arrangement in the Air Force. I believe that the details and circumstances involved in such legislation would require separate hearings and suggest that we not address ourselves to that subject in any detail as we finish our current inquiry into military health care. This afternoon we will hear from representatives of the Benefits Assurance Association, a group of retired citizens in Virginia, who have serious complaints over what has been reported to be the complete secession of health care for retirees at Kenner Army Hospital, Fort Lee, Va. We will meet in the main committee room at 2 p.m. to hear that testimony and I ask that as many members as possible be present, realizing that there is also business on the House floor. This morning we commence our testimony with defense comments on legislative proposals. Also, our members should feel free to question the witnesses concerning testimony received earlier from members of the services, as well as outside witnesses. This morning we have Dr. Robert N. Smith, Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs, Department of Defense. Dr. Smith, you are our only witness. We have a special session that commences at 10 this morning, both on the floor of the House, I believe, and also in the full Armed Services Committee for review of the Korean question, that is, as to the troops in Korea. |